Ansar al-Sharia in Mali

Ansar al-Sharia in Mali was a radical Islamist group which operated in the Azawad region of northern Mali. It was founded on 9 December 2012 by members from the Barabiche Arab tribe of Timbuktu, and the group's Arab ethnic composition made it closer to al-Qaeda than the predominantly-Tuareg Ansar Dine organization. It was opposed to democracy, adhered to Salafist jihadism, and had the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate.